2024 CSA Newsletter #19

Well, it happened folks. We had our first multiple nights of frost last week. When that happens, we know the end of the season is near. Even though many of our summer crops are grown under plastic in our hoophouses and greenhouse, frosts signal the end. We spent last week clearing out the tomatoes and peppers that were growing in the hoophouses ahead of the frost. The hoophouses give us an extra 3-5 degrees of nighttime temperatures, but nightshades don't like sub-40 degrees so it was crucial to shift and harvest as much as we could. The end of the season is usually the only time we have tomatoes ripen off the vine. 

In addition to clearing out crops, we had our first visit from local high school students last week. I had students from the OCM BOCES New Visions Environmental Science program out for a tour of the farm and an overview of the Sustainable Farming and Food Systems program here at TC3. I thoroughly enjoy the opportunity to engage with future potential students about different opportunities for education and careers in the food system.

I also want to highlight another project that one of my students is working on for their Capstone project. Another recurring theme that I have heard from students over the years is how they wish that their elementary/high school had a garden program. Farm to School is a national trend and we are seeing more and more districts across the country implementing garden-based learning for students. Living in such a diverse agricultural region, we are ripe for garden-based learning across the K-12 landscape. I have one student working on a project to revitalize the school garden at Caroline Elementary School. They have been meeting with teachers and students working on the vision for the garden and helping them plan for the 2025 season. Recently they were awarded a mini-grant through Sustainable Finger Lakes to help with the project. We are excited to see the results of this collaboration. I have partnered with Caroline Elementary on some projects, so I am happy to see this relationship rekindled. 

This week's CSA choice will still have tomatoes available. The beefsteaks and heirlooms will be combined again, and the cherry tomatoes are still around. There won't be any sauce tomatoes this week because we just have green ones at the moment. We'll see how they ripen in the coming weeks. There will also be fennel, cucumbers, the hakurei turnips/daikon radish mix, the bell/frying pepper mix, scallions, kale, garlic, hot peppers, hot pepper salts (I tried a new way of blending the jalapeno salt and this batch is much finer), and new this week, potatoes. 

Have a great week!

-Farmer Todd